Field notes · Strength after 40
Warming up after 40: ten minutes that save the session
At twenty you could walk in cold and lift. At forty-five you can too, once. The warm-up is not the boring bit before the workout. After forty it is part of the workout.
Dai Manuel · Coach Moose · Vancouver
Raise, move, ramp
Three to four minutes of anything that raises your heart rate: a brisk walk, a bike, skipping. Then three minutes moving the joints you are about to use: hip circles, arm swings, bodyweight squats, a few slow press-ups. Then ramp: two or three lighter sets of your first exercise before your working sets.
Ten minutes. That is less than the time most men spend scrolling between sets.
Why it matters
Warm tissue moves better and tolerates load better. The ramp sets also let you check how you feel today, which matters when you slept badly or had a brutal week. Some days the warm-up tells you to go lighter. Listen to it.
Common questions
- How long should a man over 40 warm up before lifting?
- About ten minutes: a few minutes of light cardio, a few minutes of joint mobility, then two or three lighter ramp-up sets of the first exercise.
Sources
- Warm-up and performance. Fradkin, Zazryn and Smoliga, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2010.